Sunday, December 26, 2010

Happy Holidays to all




Well, I will soon be switching over to a wordpress blog site (www.grantcooley.com) but will continue to post here for a bit as that gets underway. I have been doing a lot of preparation for the coming year and for the next 5 or 6 paintings. I think I have some very exciting things coming down the pipe and think you guys will enjoy them. Rather than get into all that right now, I thought I would toss you guys an interesting quote from one of my favorite holiday books, the Hogfather. Not exactly the holiday spirit, but a motivational tool nonetheless. Just in case I don't hop on here this next week, it has been an honor to share 2010 with you guys. It will be fun to look back on this archive and compare it to what will then be the future. I hope you guys will be there with me to do so. Be warm, be safe and be yourselves. Happy new Year!



"Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape...You have to start out learning to believe the little lies."

"So we can believe the big ones?

"Yes. Justice. Mercy. Duty. That sort of thing."

"They're not the same at all!"

"You think so? Then take the universe and grind it down to the finest powder and sieve it through the finest sieve and then show me one atom of justice, one molecule of mercy."

"Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the point--"

"My point exactly...You need to believe in things that aren't true. How else can they become?""

--Terry Pratchett

Saturday, December 11, 2010

How's your News?




Mine's pretty good. I have finished up a few projects that I wanted to, shown in my first gallery setting and am set to relax for the rest of the year. I'll be hitting the ground running starting Jan 1, but for now it is time to revel in the company of my friends and family. 2010 has been a bit...full for my liking and I think I need some space to digest it.

Actually, that leads me to my mock-wisdom Thought of the Day:

Take some time for yourself.

I am the worst at this. I am so driven by painting right now that I feel like I should ALWAYS have a brush or pencil on my hand. I start to feel frazzled and thin and needy when I get consumed in my work. The same thing is true for any of your other personal ambitions. I have fantastic, and I mean gorgeously wonderful, folks to share my time with and I get caught in wanting to see them or paint or do everything else. If you start to feel really wonky or you have lost your focus in your work, take some time off. I have pushed myself so hard this year and felt like I had so much catching up to do that now I am a little burned out on everything. I am having to learn that distance and perspective are the keys to longevity and perseverance.

Sooooo, when you feel like an idiot or an ass, take a step back from everything: paint, relationships, whatever. You might not be any more pleasant, but at least you'll be able to see the forest AND the trees.

Thanks to all of you that have been along for the ride and have been/started following this blog. If you haven't checked them out yet, you should head over to http://drawntoday.blogspot.com/ and check out some of the podcasts we have been doing. I will be taking over as Moderator for the near future, so they should be pretty lively. I will also be working on getting more art celebs to hop on and share their thoughts. Again, what a year.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed the pics. The comic images will have some digital effects (dundundun) added to them as well as some serious cropping, but otherwise, this is how they have shown.

Take care, g

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Wizard World Atlanta



So, wow. What a terrible show. It is hard to even stick to my formula and review this steaming pile of an event. I'll try...

So I attended Wizard World Atlanta this weekend. I wasn't particularly looking forward to the event but it was a last hurdle to overcome in a year of traveling. This is the first year of WWA and they had a solid list of B Stars, Billy Dee, Pam Grier, Richard Roundtree (Shaft((he is still alive!)), Kevin Nash, and a host of some of the best comic artists in the field. At the least I expected around 5000 attendees. As the day got closer I had finished my Sinestro Illo (scanned soon!) and was planning on finishing Hal Jordan at the event. yea yeah, I promised it done last weekend, but heck, you guys know me by now. Plus, I figured it would be a neat draw for the booth to have live painting(I was right!). Some last minute life turbulence knocked me flat, but my best friend Michael Bielaczyc stepped up and rolled down to Atl to keep me company. We packed up Fri, hopped in the sporty Altima, and hauled it down to the Dirty Souf. A lovely lass named Molly put us up in her guest bedroom and we knocked out around 3am.

The show was located at Cobb galleria Centre and had a nice setup. Badge pick-up was easy and my table was easy to find. That is about the end of the positives. The event took place in one giant hall (common to comic shows) but the artists were in the back corner and there was no real organization or signage. Attendance appeared to be around 800-1000 and the lanes felt like a country highway with but a few passersby. Sales were laughable although I had a steady stream of compliments and comments. The on site painting was good, but in the end I sold a few prints and one of my original robot studies. I would have been drunk and punching volunteers if Mike hadn't been there. Instead, I played drawing games with my friend and made some progress on my divorce and painting plans. We packed up and were gone 5 minutes after close. The show was originally booked as a 3 day event, but was cut short to 2 a few weeks ago. I took a cue from all the bailing, angry celebs and cut it further to a one-day event and proceeded to have a terrible dinner but a raucous night of board games and whiskey. We thanked Molly for putting us up and hit the rod early Sunday.

In the end, Mike and I made Lemon Meringue out of lemons.

Soooo.....

WIZARD WORLD ATLANTA DECEMBER 4-5, 2010

Pros: Solid list of guests

Cons:

1.) Most of the celebs left
2.) No real promotion for the event in the ATL area
3.) No interaction or secondary organization from the staff
4.) Incredibly high fees for abysmal services or consideration
5.) Cut out a day of the show without refunding any portion of the fee
6.) Was just lame and un-inspirational. Boo to you WWA

Will I go back? Hell no. Will I even attend WW Nashville? That is a negative Ghost Rider. Did I have a good time? In spite of the event.

Enjoy the pic and get ready for some gallery goodness and a host of scans.